Game Recaps February 4, 2017February 5, 2017

Two-Year Drought Ends; Admirals Win 5-4 in Grand Rapids

The Milwaukee Admirals won 5-4 on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins at the Van Andel Arena on Saturday night.

It has finally happened. The Admirals have ended a two-year long skid of losing games on the road in Grand Rapids. It ends a spell spanning the playoffs and regular season of ten straight defeats for the Admirals on the road against the Griffins. Their last win came back on 1/31/15.

Tonight’s story was all about the line of Kevin Fiala, Trevor Smith, and Pontus Åberg. The trio were on the ice for four of the Admirals five goals scored tonight. Both Fiala and Åberg had multi-goal performances with the Swede netting a beauty that became the game-winner in the third period.

The Admirals got on the board early in the first period courtesy of Kevin Fiala’s fourth goal of the season. Fiala was making a pass from behind the net for Trevor Smith but it deflected off of defenseman Joe Hicketts, popped up in the air, and rolled down the back of netminder Jimmy Howard and in.

Following a tripping call against Conor Allen the Admirals would extend their first period lead with a power-play goal. Pontus Åberg was stationed low in the left wing circle and was trying to hit Smith with a pass on the back post. Much like Fiala’s goal the puck went in off a defender, this time Nathan Paetsch, rather than the tape of Smith’s stick. The goal was Åberg’s thirteenth goal of the season.

It didn’t take long after the Admirals power-play goal for the Griffins to get a response. Just 1:05 of ice-time later a shot from the left wing circle by Kyle Criscuolo flipped over the glove of Juuse Saros and so quick in and out of the net that the goal light never even came on. It was Criscuolo’s twelfth tally of the season.

With seconds remaining in the opening period the Admirals had an attacking zone face-off that proved the importance of playing until the horn sounds. Vladislav Kamenev won the draw, Justin Florek rifled a shot direct from the face-off win, and the shot deflected off the pads of Howard into the path of Frédérick Gaudreau who scored five-hole with 1.8 seconds remaining in the first period. It was Gaudreau’s tenth goal of the season and fourth scored inside of twenty-four hours.

The Griffins had some quality attacking pressure in the second period. As the game crossed the midway point they pulled back a goal to make it a 3-2 game. Matt Lorito delivered a beautiful pass from the right wing that hit Brian Lashoff as he rushed from defense to the back post. The tap in for Lashoff resulted in his third goal of the season.

It took the Admirals 1:09 of the third period to get their two-goal lead back. Smith was battling for a loose puck in front of the net which forced Howard to scramble out of position. The puck would kick loose and Fiala cradled it and then raced around the net to score a wrap-around for his second of the night and fifth of the season.

Just under two-minutes later the Griffins pushed right back. Tyler Bertuzzi snapped a stiff shot from the left wing wall that saw a deflection from Colin Campbell out in front of Saros. The Admirals bench was signaling that it might have gone in from a high stick. Unfortunately that isn’t reviewable in the AHL and Campbell recorded his fifth goal of the season.

Andrew O’Brien and Eric Tangradi became push-happy after a post-whistle scrum in front of the Admirals goal crease. The two were given roughing minors and ten seconds later the Admirals scored. Åberg stole a puck with lightning reflexes off of Paetsch and burned Mitch Callahan down the right wing before whipping a forehanded shot across the stick side of Howard for his second goal of the game and fourteenth of the season.

Alex Carrier would get called for interference near the ten minute mark of the third period. The Griffins would score on the power-play to cut the Admirals lead to 5-4. Ben Street hit a blast from the left point and the net front screening Tangradi put a stick to the puck as it snuck through Saros. The Admirals, as well as the young Finn in net, were insistent on goaltender interference on the part of Tangradi prior to the Street shot. The goal would stand and it was Tangradi’s fifth goal of the season.

There was just one minute remaining in regulation when O’Brien was attempting to chip a puck off the glass and out of the Admirals defensive zone. He ended up flipping his clearance over the glass and earned a delay of game penalty which game the Griffins a power-play chance to go with the empty net and extra attacker. That may have actually served the Admirals penalty kill will because they managed to get a few clearances and it helped see time expire. The Admirals would hold to a 5-4 win.

Considering the talent in net it was slightly surprising to see both Saros and Howard in a goal fest. Saros stopped 22/26 shots on goal while Howard stopped 24/29. The win for Saros was his twelfth win from fourteen starts in the AHL this season. In his AHL career Saros has won 78.8% of his fifty-two career starts.

The Admirals are now set for a return to home ice. They will start a three-game homestand on Tuesday night when the Cleveland Monsters turn up. Friday night the Admirals see the Rockford IceHogs and then on Saturday night the Chicago Wolves come back into the Admirals schedule.

Ramblings: Prior to tonight’s game the organization was pretty busy. Marek Mazanec and Juuse Saros traded places for the sixth time this season. The move was aimed at getting Saros time in net while Pekka Rinne holds fort briefly. Mike Ribeiro officially cleared waivers this afternoon and was promptly reassigned by the Nashville Predators to the Milwaukee Admirals. Ribeiro did not join the Admirals tonight in Grand Rapids but is expected to arrive and participate in practice Monday in Milwaukee. Prior to action tonight, the Predators then acquired Vern Fiddler from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a fourth round draft pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Tonight’s line combinations were: Fiala-Smith-Åberg, Florek-Kamenev-Gaudreau, Richard-Kirkland-White, Liambas-Army-Payerl, Oligny-Carrier, Murphy-Granberg, O’Brien-Dougherty. Tonight’s scratches were: Adam Pardy (upper-body), Rick Pinkston (healthy), Mike Ribeiro (reassigned this afternoon to team).

Thoughts on tonight’s game? How impressive and important of a result was this for the Milwaukee Admirals? Is this team, which is getting stronger as the Nashville Predators are getting healthier, ready for a big push?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

News February 4, 2017

Mike Ribeiro Clears Waivers; Assigned to Admirals

“WHAT IS GOING ON?!” (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

If this news day wasn’t exciting or frantic enough there is yet another twist to deliver. The Nashville Predators placed Mike Ribeiro on waivers yesterday following news that he demanded a trade. He has since cleared waivers and has been assigned by the Predators to the Milwaukee Admirals.

Press Release via Nashville Predators:

Nashville, TN – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Saturday that the club has activated defenseman Roman Josi from injured reserve and assigned forward Mike Ribeiro to Milwaukee (AHL).

Josi has missed the previous nine games due to injury. He has earned 22 points (5g-17a) in 42 games this season, and is third on the team in power-play points with nine. Josi ranks 10th among NHL defensemen and fourth in the team in shots on goal (124). He is first on the team – and ninth in the NHL – in average time on ice per game (25:14).

The Preds return to the ice tonight against Detroit at Bridgestone Arena. The game will be televised at 7:00 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Tennessee and can be heard on the Predators’ flagship radio station, 102.5 The Game.

Whether or not Ribeiro reports to the Admirals is the next question that crops up. What you would ideally hope for is that the 36-year old Montréal native joins the group, plays a veteran leadership role, and does well enough at the AHL level that it carriers him back up to where he would prefer to be playing. That’s is a question mark though.

Ribeiro has 25 points (4 goals, 21 assists) in 46 games with the Predators this season. In his NHL career he has played 1,074 games while contributing 793 points (228 goals, 565 assists). He has played 103 career games in the AHL where he has 90 point (35 goals, 55 assists). His last AHL games came during the 2002-03 season and he only played 3 games in that time.

The Admirals are on the road playing against the Grand Rapids Griffins tonight at 6:00 PM CST. It’s unclear at this point if Ribeiro will be joining the team tonight or at all.

News February 4, 2017

Mazanec Recalled by Nashville; Saros Returns to the Admirals

The Nashville Predators are going back to the goaltending rodeo from earlier this season. Marek Mazanec has been recalled and will be joining the Predators tonight. Meanwhile, Juuse Saros has been reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals. This roster move comes on a day in which the Predators and Admirals will both be doing battle against the Detroit Red Wings organization. The Admirals face the Grand Rapids Griffins on the road at 6:00 PM CST tonight.

Mazanec started his season with the Predators and made 4 appearances and 2 starts where he had a 4.72 goals against average and 0.839 save percentage. It seemed that his move down to the Admirals back on 12/14/16 was a permanent move down to the AHL. He spent the AHL All-Star break, this past week, clearing out his Nashville apartment (interview). With the Admirals he has logged 23 starts, has won 12 games, and has a 2.61 goals against average, 0.910 save percentage, and 3 shutouts.

Saros is returning to the AHL by no means of poor performance. He’s actually done better statistically in the NHL this season. For the Predators he has made 10 starts while holding a 1.79 goals against average and 0.941 save percentage. On 12/30/16, Saros earned his first career NHL shutout while stopping 25/25 shots on goal against the St. Louis Blues. With the Admirals this season Saros has made 13 starts, won 11 games, and has a 1.76 goals against average, 0.938 save percentage, with a shutout.

Scouting February 4, 2017

Griffins: Scouting the Enemy

If there were ever a team that truly resonated with the title for our pre-game story feature it would be the Grand Rapids Griffins. They are, and have been, the enemy for years upon years now. It isn’t red mist level hatred with a history of bad blood or brawls. It is simply a rivalry bred of competitive superiority.

That’s what is ahead for the Milwaukee Admirals today. They are currently back in second place in the Central Division standings thanks in part to a win last night paired with a regulation loss from the Chicago Wolves. Who beat the Wolves? The Griffins did and did so 5-2 on the road in Chicago last night.

For the Admirals to really start to knuckle down en route for a strong playoff push they need to start making headway on the Griffins and get this awful mentality of “we can’t win in the Van Andel Arena” out of the system. The Admirals last win in Grand Rapids came over two years ago back on January 31st in a 4-0 shutout with Magnus Hellberg between the pipes. If you include last season’s playoffs the Admirals have lost ten straight games in the Van Andel Arena. It’s about time that skid stops.

The Griffins enter this game with a record of 29-12-1-2 (61 points, 0.693 points percentage). That has them not only atop the Central Division but the entire Western Conference. Only the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (0.750) and Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0.705) have better records in the entire league.

While it would be nice to see the Admirals break this run of misery playing inside the Van Andel Arena -if it is done- it won’t come easy. The Griffins have a home record of 16-6-0-2 (0.708 points percentage) which is fourth best in the AHL this season. At home the Griffins average 3.42 goals per game while allowing 2.33 goals against per game as well as only taking 6.79 penalty minutes per game. Their power-play at home is the third best in the AHL (26.7%). Their penalty kill at home ranks eighth best in the AHL (86.2%). They are a highly detailed, composed, and explosive team in their own barn.

A major storyline coming into tonight could come in the form of the Griffins goaltender of choice. Tonight’s projected starter appears set to be Jimmy Howard who is in on a conditioning assignment from the Detroit Red Wings. Howard last played on 12/20/16 on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning and has been out due to a lower-body injury. Should Howard get the start it would be his first taste of AHL hockey since the 2008-09 season. His last AHL game was in the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs on 5/9/09 against the Manitoba Moose. His last game against the Admirals was on 2/10/09 and saw him stop 24/28 shots on goal in a road loss.

Comparing these Griffins and Admirals offensively you will quickly find some distance separating the two. The Griffins have three players with 30 points or more (Ben Street, Matt Lorito, and Tomas Nosek). The Admirals have… none. The Griffins have seven players who have scored double digit goals so far this season. The Admirals have… Pontus Åberg and Trevor Smith.

I do take solace in this tidbit of news that happened on Thursday. Louis-Marc Aubrey was released of his AHL contract with the Griffins and signed with Eisbären Berlin. Aubrey was a really well-rounded forward who always appeared to play his best hockey against the Admirals. Last season he scored a head-to-head best 7 points (6 goals, 1 assist) from 8 games. Auf Wiedersehen, Aubrey.

Expectations for tonight’s game against the Grand Rapids Griffins? What do the Milwaukee Admirals need to do in order to buck the trend of bad games and results inside the Van Andel Arena? And, serious question, would tonight of all night’s be a good time to finally rotate Jonas Gunnarsson between the pipes?

Chatterbox February 4, 2017

Chatterbox, Vol. 173

The Milwaukee Admirals 4-3 overtime win last night over the Rockford IceHogs was a hot mess. In truth, there was far more bad than there actually was good. Here is the catch and the most gleaming aspect of last night’s game. The really good teams win despite the fact they didn’t play their best hockey. The Admirals did that last night and never found themselves trailing in the process. It wasn’t a great game, for many reasons, but the Admirals stuck together and found a way to get the result.

There are numerous topics that I could plunge into after a game such as that. Allow me to tackle the one that rattled my head the most though which was the officiating. Normally I step back and don’t want to step on toes as far as finger wagging the men in stripes in concerned -but- last night was astronomically bad.

The game took two hours and forty-one minutes to play. The Admirals have played two shootout games shootouts this season that took as long or less to play. They even had a shootout that went a full three rounds that ended just a minute longer. I get that there were some tempers and post-whistle scrums here and there. It is a rivalry. I get that. But the amount of putzing about to figure out what is happening over who gets penalized for what and for how long and under what circumstance was mind numbingly aggravating last night. Yes, IceHogs head coach Ted Dent is a known knucklehead who probably said one or all seven of George Carlin’s favorite words to get himself a game misconduct, but even I can get an idea as to why he’d have called over the officials -twice in the first period- to make sense of what’s going on.

If all that took place last night happened under the context of a three man officiating crew having to put a stopper on an ever building powder keg? I’d get it a little bit. There were some scrums here and there that better needed containing and shutting up sooner. But it was a four man officiating crew. As much as I loved the Trevor Murphy vs. Ville Pokka fight do yourself a favor, watch it again, and tell me how the officials handled that situation. It looked like aliens who had just descended upon the Earth and weren’t sure how to introduce themselves to the natives.

Funnily enough, as so happened, Murphy and Pokka were assessed game misconducts under the “secondary altercation” guideline of the AHL rule book (46.7). That rule dictates that: “a game misconduct penalty shall be imposed on any player who is assessed a major penalty for fighting after the original altercation has started.” Considering it happened rather organically with the pile up and was, not just geographically, the more central scrap taking place I don’t know how justified that implementation of the rule was or if it was the officials way of dismissing players rather than having a legitimate secondary altercation with either or the two players later in the game resulting in a second fighting major and a game misconduct for doing such – an unlikely circumstance as for Murphy that was his second pro fight and first of the season and it was Pokka’s first ever recorded fighting major in his career via Hockey Fights.

That, by a long shot, was hanging over my head as the game went on. If the play on the ice for either the Admirals or IceHogs felt directionless I suppose it would be fitting because there was hardly ever a chance for the two sides to get consistent runs of play without a whistle. Stop. Start. Stop. Stop. Wait, was that penalty correct or not? Start again.

While there are notes to be had of the Admirals more poor efforts on the night, passing – passing out of shots, it is hard to not admire four things that went right.

Frédérick Gaudreau goes right to the net – scores a goal. Gaudreau goes right to the net on the Admirals extended five-on-three power-play – collects a rebound and scores a second goal. Gaudreau swoops down the right wing and, failed pass or not, he puts a puck towards the front of the net – and scores a goal off the leg of the defending Carl Dahlström and records a hat trick. And, let’s not let one Québec native have all the fun, Alex Carrier goes to the net in overtime – and scores the game-winning goal off of a rebound from a Pontus Åberg shot. The Admirals do have plenty of skill. But when this team is at its best it is when they are playing a simple game that sees pucks cleared out their defensive zone, playing with pace North-South, and going right to the net. All that skill is useless when wild one against three dekes are attempted through traffic and the puck gets turned over. Where the Admirals were at their worst last night was puck possession and retention. They didn’t have that puck often or long. Fortunately, in a few moments when they were rolling forward, they were rewarded when the simple and direct approach to the net was applied. For the Admirals less often seems to yield so much more with their skill set.

So, for as scrappy or sloppy as last night’s game was, the Admirals did find recipe enough for success tonight when the face the Grand Rapids Griffins: defense first, keep it simple, and get pucks and bodies to the net. It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

After last night’s game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also chatted with Gaudreau and Carrier just prior to the duo getting packed up and ready for an overnight bus ride to Grand Rapids. These were last night’s post-game interviews with a bonus in the form of a pre-game chat that I had with former Admiral turned IceHog Michael Latta.

Comments on the comments? What did you think of all of last night’s stoppages and penalty calls? Was the game pacing unnecessarily flubbed up or did the officials manage the forest fire that is the Admirals/IceHogs rivalry well?

Game Recaps February 3, 2017

Hat Tricks, Ejections, and More; Ads Win 4-3 in OT

The Milwaukee Admirals won 4-3 in overtime against the Rockford IceHogs at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Friday night.

Despite a Frédérick Gaudreau hat trick the Admirals found themselves allowing a late equalizer that forced overtime tonight. The Admirals didn’t even need a line change as a hard shot by Pontus Åberg fell flat for Alex Carrier to score his second overtime game-winner of the season.

It would take the Admirals only fifty-nine seconds to get out in front tonight. Mac Carruth made a terrible judgement call to sprawl out of his net for a loose puck. He didn’t make the cover and Justin Florek quickly passed to Vladislav Kamenev who dinked towards Frédérick Gaudreau at the doorstep where no goaltender was to be found.

The IceHogs would equalize midway through the first period under controversial circumstances. It appeared that Trevor Murphy had won a footrace down the right wing that should have seen hybrid icing called. The officials instead let play continue and, in a matter of seconds, Nolan Valleau scored his second goal of the season from a slap shot off the right wing circle.

Post-whistle drama would occur only eight seconds after the controversial Valleau goal. Viktor Svedberg not only tied up Derek Army but started throwing fists at the turtling opponent. Svedberg was given four minutes for roughing and a misconduct while Army was handed two minutes for roughing. Things didn’t seem to sit well with the IceHogs bench, for some reason, and that escalated their problems further as they earned a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Admirals were give a full two minutes to operate on the five-on-three power-play. Their setup was short and sweet. Murphy cranked a slap shot to the net and Carruth did all he could to trap it – Murphy’s shots just have too much on it. The resulting battle for the rebound saw Florek and Gaudreau fighting for the second and third chance opportunity and Gaudreau would cash in with the power-play goal and his second tally of the first period to push his season total to eight.

After more bad blood banter on the ice it seemed that IceHogs head coach Ted Dent had seen enough for one night. He was assessed a game misconduct following the completion of the first period.

In the second period the IceHogs drew a full five-on-three power-play of their own following a lengthy shift in attack. It would serve to equalize for them as Brandon Mashinter worked off the left wing circle and passed through the three man triangle of the Admirals to the low right wing for a one-timer by Spencer Abbott. The backdoor shot would have needed a miracle to be stopped. Abbott picked up his tenth goal of the season to make it a 2-2 game.

As the horn sounded to end the second period there was some carry over from the face-off that saw Justin Kirkland take a swipe at Michael Latta. With bodies gathering together Murphy found himself a dance partner in the fight department in fellow defenseman Ville Pokka. It was a decisive victory for Murphy in the scrap as he landed some seriously hard rights to the face of Pokka. I’d call that a 10-8 in the fight card.

It felt that for all the penalties and all the stoppages that the flow of tonight’s game was working against the Admirals. As the third period was spiraling down it seemed that the Admirals weren’t generating much attacking pressure on Carruth in goal.

Yet, hockey can be a silly sport at times and all it can take sometimes is to just get the puck towards the net. Gaudreau was gliding down the right wing when he attempted to pass opposite wing for Kamenev when the puck bounced off of Carl Dahlström’s leg and past Carruth to give Gaudreau his second career AHL hat trick – both of which have come against the IceHogs in Milwaukee during the month of February. It pushed Gaudreau’s season goal tally from six to nine.

With time expiring the IceHogs brought Carruth to the bench for the extra attacker with 1:28 remaining in regulation. They managed to get a breakthrough with 56.8 seconds remaining as a shot from the right point by Michael Latta caught a piece of traffic on the way to Mazanec and allowed Abbott to score from a second chance opportunity and earn his second goal of the night and eleventh of the season.

The game needed overtime and thankfully the Admirals had the ice tilted directly from the face-off. The puck was pinned deep and when Pontus Åberg ripped a shot from the right wing the rebound off the pads of Carruth and fell kindly for Alex Carrier to deliver his second game-winning overtime goal of the season.

To put it bluntly, much like the length of this game recap, this game was long. There were a combined ninety-two penalty minutes tonight with four game misconducts called. This was the first of eight games against the IceHogs for the rest of the season. It sort of sets a tone of what to expect from here on out.

Next on tap for the Admirals is an overnight bus trip to Grand Rapids where the group looks to earn their first win in the Van Andel Arena since 1/31/15. Including last year’s playoff series the Admirals have lost their last ten straight on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals went on the AHL All-Star break there were a few moves made in the organization. The Admirals released Shawn O’Donnell from his PTO Contract. Petter Granberg was activated from injured reserve by the Nashville Predators and assigned to the Admirals. Jonathan Diaby was then reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL where he quickly rejoined with O’Donnell. The Predators this afternoon then placed Mike Ribeiro on waivers. Tonight’s line combinations: Fiala-Smith-Åberg, Florek-Kamenev-Gaudreau, Richard-Kirkland-White, Liambas-Army-Payerl, Oligny-Carrier, Murphy-Granberg, O’Brien-Dougherty. Scratches included Adam Pardy (upper-body) and Rick Pinkston (healthy).

What were your thoughts on tonight? Has there ever been a truly boring game between the Admirals and IceHogs? Does playing such a sloppy game ahead of a showdown against the Grand Rapids Griffins set a bad tone for tomorrow night?

Scouting February 3, 2017

IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy

The Rockford IceHogs have only played the Milwaukee Admirals four times this season and tonight marks just their second trip to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. It feels bizarre to say that considering it is already February but all that means is that they’ll be a near constant in the upcoming schedule just as the Chicago Wolves had been the previous two months.

It is a welcome sight for an Admirals group looking to get on a run. The Admirals are 3-0-0-1 against the IceHogs this season with the lone loss coming the night of the “Food Poisoning” game for the Nashville Predators that saw several key figures go up from the Admirals with random plugs into the roster including Mark Visentin in net – who was great that night.

Of the Admirals wins over the IceHogs this season only one came from a narrow margin. That was a shootout win in Rockford that featured goals from Frédérick Gaudreau and Vladislav Kamenev in the final five-minutes of regulation to force overtime. The other games saw wins of 7-3 and 5-2. That last scoreline came at the top of the 2017 side of the calendar in the first match-up in Milwaukee. The leading scorer in the season series is Matt White who has 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 4 games.

The IceHogs enter this game with a record of 14-23-5-3 (36 points, 0.400 points percentage). They aren’t just dead last in the Central Division. They aren’t just dead last in the Western Conference. They are the worst team in the entire AHL based on points percentage, points earned, and fewest wins. Only the Rochester Americans (24) and Hartford Wolf Pack (24) have more regulation losses in the league this season than the IceHogs (23) and that can change tonight.

In discussions I’ve had with Chicago Blackhawks fans, because we have those around Southeastern Wisconsin, I get the sense that the reason for the sheer -bad, bad, awful- effort of the IceHogs this season comes in not so much who is there as much as it is who isn’t there anymore: Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza, Tanner Kero, and Nick Schmaltz. That is a lot of NHL/AHL fringe talent that is up with the Blackhawks out of necessity right now. Add to the fact that last year’s security blanket in net Michael Leighton signed elsewhere in the off-season and you have a hodgepodge group that deliver plenty of disappointment.

I feel very much that this year’s IceHogs are last year’s Chicago Wolves. When you see the roster it is still capable of being really good. There just has to be something between the ears not firing right. They have quality veteran leadership players: Jake Dowell, Spencer Abbott, Brandon Mashinter, and Pierre-Cédric Labrie. They still have some youngsters that are exciting: Tyler Motte, Mark McNeill, Ville Pokka, and Carl Dahlström. And depth style players to fill in gaps: Sam Carrick, Christopher DeSousa, and Jeremy Langlois. I can see a stumble here and there, like the Admirals the last two months, but how are the IceHogs as bad as this? It begs questioning.

Perhaps a spark plug is needed for the IceHogs to get things firing right. Enter former-Admiral forward Michael Latta who was recently acquired from the Los Angeles Kings organization in exchange for defenseman Cameron Schilling.

Latta logged 122 career games as a member of the Admirals while producing 63 points (23 goals, 40 assists) and 286 penalty minutes. He infamously came out of the penalty box without wearing a jersey during the bench clearing brawl that took place on April Fools’ Day 2012. He was traded the next season in a deal that saw Filip Forsberg acquired from the Washington Capitals. He was in their organization up until this season when he signed a two-way deal with the Kings where he had been in the AHL as a member of the Ontario Reign for the whole of this season until the mid-season trade made him a member of the IceHogs. He has played 3 games and produced an assist since joining the IceHogs. He had 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 29 games with the Reign this season with a plus/minus rating of +4 and 67 penalty minutes. Expect to see him chatting at neutral ice during pre-game skate with former best pal with the Admirals Mike Liambas.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How will the All-Star break play with tonight’s game: slow and sloppy or refreshed and fast? Considering how often these two teams will be playing for the rest of the season do you feel some message sending across both sides could happen in tonight’s game? What are the odds of a Liambas vs. Latta fight?

Chatterbox February 2, 2017

Chatterbox, Vol. 172

The AHL All-Star break is officially over. This afternoon the Milwaukee Admirals were back practicing and did so today at the MSOE Kern Center. They will be returning to game action this weekend with the Rockford IceHogs tomorrow night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and then on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday.

As bodies took to the ice there was a noticeable absentee. Jonathan Diaby was officially reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones. He has played 5 games at the ECHL level this season and has 3 assists with a plus/minus rating of +2 and 6 penalty minutes. For the Admirals in the AHL Diaby has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 21 games with a plus/minus rating of +1 and 30 penalty minutes.

Diaby’s absence likely comes due to the return of Petter Granberg to the Admirals defensive ranks. The line combinations with the big Swede returning looked as follows:

Fiala-Smith-Åberg
Florek-Kamenev-Gaudreau
Richard-Kirkland-White
Liambas-Army-Payerl

Oligny-Carrier
Murphy-Granberg
(Pinkston) O’Brien-Dougherty

Mazanec
Gunnarsson

Rick Pinkston was rotating here and there alongside Jack Dougherty. It is most likely he will be a healthy scratch in the current roster structure. As far as line rushes went today, I must say, the group of Anthony Richard–Justin Kirkland–Matt White looked really good. And, in general, practice today looked much looser and the players much more relaxed.

If you followed me chatting about practice on Twitter you will have wondered what was up with Alex Carrier starting practice off in a clunker red helmet and having to do push-ups. Was it All-Star hazing? Nope, he simply forgot his helmet and they grabbed on from the MSOE staff around the rink until his bucket could be retrieved.

In net, Marek Mazanec and Jonas Gunnarsson shared time in net during the mix of various drills. It is becoming all that more impressive seeing Mazanec looking very sharp and composed to shooters. It feels like the times of him being jumpy or in a scramble is pretty much gone. He stays really square to shooters. For the team to be looking to get back on a run he’ll be central to doing that if he can continue to stay as locked in as he has since returning to Milwaukee full-time.

Injury Update. I’ve noticed him around the team lately but Adam Pardy is still considered out long-term due to an upper-body injury. He is healing up well and has been contributing with the Admirals as a borderline coach as he continues to make strides for a return by the end of the season. He also had a fantastic interview with Aaron Sims this morning that is well worth watching via Facebook. Pardy might be one of the best interviews I think we’ve had here in Milwaukee. I could listen to that guy talk hockey and tell stories all day. He is a good one.

After practice I had the opportunity to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also spoke with Pinkston, Carrier, and Mazanec per fan requests. Here were today’s interviews.

Comments on the comments? Do you feel that the All-Star break came at the right time for the Milwaukee Admirals? How good will it be for the schedule to shake back out with more home games as the Admirals look ahead for the second half of the regular season?

News January 31, 2017

Petter Granberg Returning to Milwaukee

The Nashville Predators have activated defenseman Petter Granberg from injured reserve and assigned him to the Milwaukee Admirals. Granberg last played with the Predators in the middle of January when they played on the road against the Colorado Avalanche. He had been out due to injury since.

Granberg has split time between the NHL and AHL this season but the majority has been spent with the Admirals. He had played 18 games in the AHL opposed to 10 games in the NHL with the Predators. His return to game readiness will be a welcome addition to an Admirals group that could benefit from the defense first style defenseman as that’s been the issue lately for the team. It also allows the Admirals to return back to head coach Dean Evason‘s preferred method of three left handed shots and three right handed shots being grouped together on defense.

The Admirals are currently enjoying their AHL All-Star break. They return to action this Friday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena when the Rockford IceHogs turn up for the first of three meetings in the month of February. The Admirals then travel overnight to play against the Grand Rapids Griffins and the formidable Van Andel Arena on Saturday.

News January 31, 2017

O’Donnell Released from PTO; Returns to Cincinnati

This morning the Milwaukee Admirals have released forward Shawn O’Donnell from his PTO Contract. He will be rejoining the Admirals’ ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones a day prior to them hosting the Rapid City Rush at the US Bank Arena.

O’Donnell first showed up to the Admirals ahead of the season during Training Camp where he was in courtesy of the Cyclones to get an AHL audition. O’Donnell impressed enough that he has made stops with the Admirals this season and he has managed to play 6 games. In that time he has been a high energy worker who also recorded a pair of fighting majors.

In the ECHL for the Cyclones, O’Donnell has produced 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 17 games. He has a plus/minus rating of -2 and 19 penalty minutes. The Cyclones currently have a record of 18-20-4-0 (40 points, 0.476 points percentage) and are in sixth place in the South Division and eleventh in the Eastern Conference standings.

News & Discussion Site For Your Milwaukee Admirals